


Wounded

by WandaRavenBlack



Series: Bad Things Happen - Dick Grayson [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Hallucinations, Hurt Dick Grayson, Interrogation, Kidnapping, Protective Bruce Wayne, Protective Damian Wayne, Scarecrow's Fear Toxin (DCU), Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-26 09:28:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20927963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WandaRavenBlack/pseuds/WandaRavenBlack
Summary: ROPE BURNSDick gets captured by Scarecrow and tortured by the last person he wanted to see. It's up to Batman and Robin to save him in time.





	Wounded

Dick was cursing up a storm. How could he be so stupid that he let himself get captured by Scarecrow’s goons? How did it even happen? He remembered jumping off a roof and landing in a dark alley. Bruce had told him about a possible robbery there, and he had decided to go there alone, even though Damian had whined about never being able to work with him anymore. As soon as he had landed in the alley, he felt a powerful hit to the back of his head and everything went black. When he woke up, he was hanging in the middle of the room, with ropes binding his wrists above his head. His suit had been cut open all the way down to his waist to bare his chest and back. His feet were around ten centimeters over the ground, and there were ropes around his ankles too, binding him to metal rings on the floor. Thankfully, his mask was still on. Acting quickly, he twisted his hands so that he could hold onto the ropes and lift his body a bit. This way, the weight wasn’t on his wrists anymore. He knew he could hold onto the ropes for a long time. He was a trapeze artist. He could hang onto things without getting too tired. What worried him more were the ropes around his ankles. They were a bit too tight and there was a possibility that they would cut off the blood flow. It was just typical that he would get himself into a situation like that. The only thing that made him slightly more relaxed was that this wasn’t Joker. Sure, Scarecrow was dangerous, but Joker seemed to want to kill everyone who was close to Batman. And Dick wasn’t sure how many people actually knew that Nightwing had been the first Robin. All he could wait for now, was either one of the goons to cut him down or for Bruce to start worrying about him not answering. His train of thoughts was stopped when the door opened and ten goons went inside, with Scarecrow following them. 

“Well, well, well. Look what we caught.” 

He walked closer to Dick and smiled. 

“Cooperate, and I won’t have to hurt you. Too much.” 

Dick spit right at him and the criminal punched him in the stomach for that. The ropes prevented him from doubling over and he grunted. This was not going to end up well. 

“I understand. Bind him up.” 

Dick looked at them with surprise. He was already bound. What could they do more? The goons grabbed two long ropes and moved closer to him. Seeing them reach for his middle, Dick started to struggle. There wasn’t much he could do, but that didn’t mean he would let them do whatever they wanted without giving them a challenge. But he froze when he heard a gun being cocked. One of the goons had it pointed at his head and he forced himself to relax. If he wasn’t bound, he would have maybe tried to fight back. But now he couldn’t move. Couldn’t dodge. Quickly, the goons bound one of the ropes around his waist and the other one around his chest. They dragged them to the sides of the room and secured them in rings on the walls. Then, they put a third rope around his neck and secured it to the ropes around his wrists. Dick noticed that the rope was tight enough to chafe, but not tight enough to hang him. Scarecrow nodded. 

“This is your last chance, boy. Cooperate, and we’ll stop.” 

Dick rolled his eyes. 

“Stop trying. I won’t help you.” 

“I hoped you would say that.” 

And he left the room, the goons following him out. Dick tried to take a deep breath, but the ropes prevented him from breathing in too much. He frowned. What was this supposed to be? Being hung up like this wasn’t so bad. He could hold onto the ropes until Bruce found him. Suddenly, he heard a slight whirring sound, before the room started filling with a blueish smoke. It took him around 15 seconds to realize that it was fear gas, but by then he had already pulled in a few breaths of it. He felt his head get dizzy and closed his eyes. He had never been good at dealing with fear gas. Too many bad memories that gave him reasons to be scared. After a few minutes, he felt his head clear up a bit and decided to look up. He was surprised that it was passing so soon. Fear gas usually lasted for at least five hours. But, before he could open his eyes, he heard a slight movement in front of him and a voice that he had hoped to never hear again. 

“Hallo, Little Bird. It’s been a while.” 

His eyes snapped open and he looked straight into the face of Slade Wilson. The assassin smirked at him. 

“Surprised?” 

He reached out to touch him, and Dick jerked backwards out of instinct. That made the ropes around him shift and the one on his neck tighten slightly. Slade raised his eyebrows. 

“Don’t fight me. You’re smarter than that.” 

There was an edge of danger in his voice and Dick was brought back to the days when he was Slade’s apprentice. That voice meant trouble if it was not followed. 

“You’re not real.” 

Slade smirked. 

“I’m not? Doesn’t this feel real?” 

He suddenly backhanded him across the face and Dick gasped. The slap felt real enough. Seeing the angry look in Slade’s eye, he forced himself to relax back to his original place. The man smiled at him. 

“Good boy. Now. I have some questions for you. If you answer them, I won’t have to hurt you. First off, who is Batman?” 

Dick closed his eyes. They had had that conversation before. Slade always wanted the names. Another slap made him look up again. 

“Screw you.” 

With a smile, Slade pulled out a knife and made a long cut down his side. Dick had to bite his lip to make sure that he didn’t scream. Another few cuts and he started thrashing around in the bonds. He felt the ropes cut into his skin and the one around his neck strangling him, forcing him to move closer to Slade. It was the perfect torture. Slade kept cutting into him for a few more minutes, before he stopped and stepped away. 

“What do you say, Little Bird? Ready to answer my questions?” 

Dick shook his head, the rope pulling at his neck. 

“No. I won’t tell you anything.” 

Slade rolled his eye. 

“As you wish.” 

And he went back to cutting. After a few more minutes, Dick couldn’t help it and screamed. After that, he couldn’t stop himself anymore. He kept screaming with almost every cut, especially since Slade had given up cutting straight lines and was now carving his name into Dick’s chest, right under the rope that had now started cutting a burning line into him. The torture went on for half an hour, before Slade took a step away to admire his handywork. Except for his name, he had carved the words ‘FAILURE’, ‘GYPSY’ and ‘CIRCUS FREAK'. Dick was breathing heavily, the pain making him almost pass out. Slade grabbed his chin and made him look up. 

“What do you think, Little Bird? Ready to talk?” 

Dick shook his head. There was no way he was going to betray Bruce. Slade nodded. 

“If I’m being honest, I’m happy that you’re not cooperating. This gives me a chance to do whatever I want with you.” 

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wet rag. 

“Do you know what this is, Dickie?” 

Dick shook his head. 

“Salt-water. Perfect for your wounds.” 

He walked a bit closer and put the rag on Dick’s chest. The young man screamed and did his best to move away. Slade kept ‘cleaning’ his wounds and Dick felt tears slip down his face. 

“Richard!” 

Dick’s head snapped up, hearing the familiar voice. Slade looked around with anger.

“Richard! It’s me!” 

Dick could hear the voice. Damian’s voice. But Damian wasn’t there. He was back in the cave. Suddenly, he felt a stab in his arm and a terrible pain in his head. When the pain disappeared, he opened his eyes and looked up. Batman was standing right in front of him, with Damian next to him. Moving slowly, Bruce reached out and grabbed Dick around his waist, making sure to not touch the wounds that had formed under the ropes. Then he pulled out a batarang and cut off the ropes that held Dick up. Very gently, he sat him on the ground. 

“Damian.” 

The boy moved quickly to stand behind Dick. He hesitated for a moment, not knowing where to touch him, but then he put his hands on his shoulders and steadied him from behind, while Bruce cut off and removed all the ropes. They both winced at the burn marks and wounds under them. Remembering the torture session, Dick grabbed Bruce’s cape. 

“Slade. Where…? Slade.” 

Bruce looked at him with surprise. 

“Slade wasn’t here, Dick. Just Scarecrow and his men.” 

“But…” 

Dick glanced down at his chest and was shocked when he didn’t see any of the cuts Slade had made. And then he realized what had happened. Fear gas. Bruce removed the last ropes and then unhooked his own cape. With Damian’s help, he wrapped it gently around Dick and then lifted him up, mindful of his injuries. Seeing that Dick was secure in Bruce’s arms, Damian pulled out his sword and started walking towards the door, Batman following him. Dick, exhausted from the torture that hadn’t even happened, leaned his head against Bruce’s shoulder and closed his eyes. He knew that it wasn’t over yet. He had burn marks all over his body. Alfred would have much work to do. But at least he was safe. He was with his family. 


End file.
